Family
by Dendatzi
Summary: Chiro's gone. But why? And for how long? And whats the monkey's do while his gone? Read and find out Chapter four up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** This is from a looooooong time ago. Origanlly it was supposed to be something me and my sister did together since then....well I duuno. Not sure if it'll go anywhere. Let me know what you think. And please be honest

Chapter One: Love Remains

I'll remember you, while you remember me;  
I'll remember everything you wanted to be.  
So, please be a brave lad,  
My heart sails with thee.  
And I'll remember you, while you remember me.  
-From "Caitlin's Song"  
Meq, Steve Cash

There comes a time in the life of every child when they must move on, leave the safety of family behind and learn to navigate the world alone, without that hand of guidance there for them. I knew that day was coming, deep down I knew, everyday you grew older was another day closer to that one day when you would go. As you mentor and you father, I saw the changes coming long before you told us. I saw the distance in your eyes, the hole in your soul, the place left empty where love should have filled, and I knew you would go.  
I just never thought it would be this soon, or that you would stay away for so long.  
Time moves us all forward here, the seasons change, day becomes night and hearts grow weary of hope, our family isn't doing so well these days, when you where here, you were the reason we all stayed, we had a student to teach, a little brother to protect and a friend to cause trouble with. You were all of these things and many more, and without you it is like our hearts have been torn from us, and we are told to continue living.  
Nova began a Fighting Arts School by the Quay, on the opposite side of the City, it wasn't intentional, apparently some of the younger students asked her to help them deal with some bullies at their school, and it just blossomed from there. They are young and ask many questions, but she deals with them with a patience I have not seen before.  
Gibson was invited to give lectures at the University, though his classes are only two nights a week, he stays there most of the time now, glad to have someone that listens to him again, even if it is a room full of students that care about their teacher, but only because he is their teacher, and nothing more. Still he gives it his all.  
Sprx is gone, not forever, he is just away, he signed up with a Salvage crew, they travel to planets around Shuggazoom and recover discarded metal, metal they bring back to Shuggazoom and melt down into something better. He has brought home more metal of Otto.  
Of which Otto needs plenty, your little green brother has got it in him to update, remodel and redecorate the Robot, from side to side and head to toe, there is nary a hall that is not missing panels with wires all exposed. Otto himself has become like a ghost, drifting from point to point, working but his heart is no longer in it, he just tears out the old, working the Robot down to bits, trying to erase the memories of you.  
And me? I am still here, in this dusty place, full of dusty memories each day is the same, filled with meandering through the gardens the people planted outside, or spending it meditating in the sand garden. I am losing myself, falling deeper and deeper into my mind, seeking the comfort and solace that only knowing your safety and presence will bring.  
You left us five years ago now Chiro, taking the ships we built for you, telling us that there was a past out there you needed to find, we stood beside you, and we still do, but now we have come to question.....when will you come back?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:Oy! Sorry! I know I promised to have this up by Sunday. But that didn't work out! Anyway Heres chapter 2  
Sprx's made a friend..

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Two: Not That Different

Life had changed a lot since that day, and yet things somehow remained, at least somewhat, the same. Nova still loved a good fight, Gibson loves to hear himself talk, Otto got himself lost in a project that was way to big for him, and Antuari was quiet and recluse, giving away nothing on how he felt about Chiro's absence.  
Even if he didn't show it, or say it, it was plain for any to see, Sprx imagined the same look was on his face whenever the kid's name was brought up, the look of distance and fear, the look of loneliness. When Chiro had told them he was leaving, it had taken them all by surprise, but not Antuari, Sprx would have been floored if Antuari had been surprised.  
But then again who knew the kid better then Antuari? They had a bond closer then that of student and mentor, they echoed a relationship of father and son, so no, Antuari would have been the last one to be surprised by Chiro's announcement. I think he's more hurt by the fact that we haven't heard a word from Chiro since he left Sprx thought, staring at his ghostly reflection in his cockpit window. Sure the kids was bound to be headed somewhere far, far away, but I'm sure there was a way he could have contacted us, or at lest given us a message of hell even a letter..But no nothing not in five damn years. Sprx slammed his fist down on the controls of his fighter. He felt his anger growing each passing day, he wasn't mad at Chiro, he understood the reasons why he left, he just didn't understand the silence. Sure the kid had never let things go easily, getting him to talk about his problems was about as easy as pulling teeth, but with time, and constant love and patience from the Monkeys, Chiro had begun to be talkative, and by the time they defeated the Dark One Worm, Chiro hid nothing from them, and they hide nothing from him. They were open and honest, the way a family should be.  
So why are we still waiting? Sprx wondered idly once again losing himself into vast field of stars that drifted just past his cockpit.  
"Hey, Sprx, you awake out there?" A static filled female voice his cockpit with noise  
Sprx reached down and flipped the com switch "Yea Sao, s'up?"  
"What's up?" The women repeated, a touch of annoyance in her voice "I'll tell you what's up. as soon as you get your sorry ass back to the base....now!"  
The com died, worried Sprx turned his ship around and headed for the base.  
When he first saw, he didn't think much of it, honestly it looked like a child's set of play blocks, one stacked on top of two, built on an asteroid, in an asteroid field that circled around Shugazoom.  
But he was soon awed by the complexity and size of the base, it easily dwarfed the Super Robot in size and was home to thousands of pilots, Reformers Mechanics, and Sao, the founder and the boss of the Phoenix Salvage Crew.  
Sprx docked his ship with practiced ease, he didn't take his fist Rocket, unable to bear the memories it held, instead his first six weeks on the job were spent with a spunky mechanic named Birdy, A young girl with sky blue hair and a metal arm from her shoulder down, Auto-Mail she called but would elaborate no further. He slid from the cockpit and hit the steel deck silently, unsurprised to see a black coverall clad girl leaning against the wall of the elevator, waiting for him, she smiled as he approached and tapped him lightly on his helmet.  
"Hey Birds" she looked troubled "You alright?"  
"Never better Sparky, and if we don't move Sao will have our asses...well yours actually as I've just been sent to bring the sacrifice, not be one" She cheered as they stepped into the elevator.  
"Gee, thanks Birds, when I get into trouble, I'll know exactly who not to call" he replied dryly  
"Ye better not Sparky, I don't wanna be hauling your but outta the fire"  
Five years ago Sprx's first reaction to the 'Sparky' nickname would have been anger. Today it only served as a reminder to why Birdy called him that....

_It was late, he was tired, and Birdy told him they would go to bed when they had finished the wiring for the navagantiol systems, Sprx's mind was a million miles away, namely back on the robot, with a certain green monkey who look completely devastated when Sprx told them he was going to space for a while, and because of that he wasn't paying a single bit of attention to what he was doing, and thus crossed two wires the wrong way, and ended electrocuting himself silly.  
He woke up three days later with burned fingers and a nasty headache, Birdy informed due to his lack of attention he had fried just about all the wiring in the cockpit, and almost set the entire repair bay on fire with the shower of sparks. Since that day she had called him Sparky, it was funny, and at first the nickname grated his nerves like it used to do, but then eventually it only reminded of why she called him sparky....._

"What'cha smiling 'bout?" Birdy asked as they rode the elevator  
"Why you call me sparky" He said  
She giggled "That was pretty funny"  
"Not at the time" He whined "It hurt"  
"Only 'cause you were stupid. your fingers didn't hurt near as much as your pride"  
Sprx shrugged, he didn't bother arguing, he knew she was right, the elevator arrived at the top floor, that housed the C&C and Sao's office, Birdy stepped out and headed for Sao's office. Sprx followed her, his eyes looking out the window at the stars that surrounded them, because the asteroid belt that they were stationed in, kept moving, Shugazoom wasn't visible this time of year. Sprx shook his head as the loneliness flooded his heart. He looked away from the stars, and the memories as they drew level with Sao's office.  
She was having a conversation with someone, but the voices were too low for Sprx to make out who, Birdy raised her hand and tapped lightly on the door, only after they both heard the customary 'come in' did the door slid open admitting Birdy and Srpx.  
Sao was a beautiful women, she was Asian, and the years had only been kind to her, her long black hair shimmered in the soft light, her deep brown eyes were kind and soft, Sprx had only seen them angary once, and swore right then and there he never wanted this women mad at him. The women reminded him of Antuari, calm, panintence and wise.  
"If your through staring" She said  
"Whoops, sorry, you wanted to see me?" He asked  
Sao shook her head "No, I didn't" She smiled at Sprx's confused look "They did" She pointed to a spot of the room that held a couch and arm chair for a rare guest of Sao's. Sprx and Birdy turned to look, and Sprx smiled at who he saw  
Gibson and Otto were staring back at him, with placid smiles on their faces as well, Antuari stood beside the couch and mearly nodded at the red monkey.  
"Sprx your okay!" Otto cried as he flung himself off the couch and landed on Sprx, sending them both to the carpeted floor, Otto was on top, choking Sprx, with a tight hug. Sprx hugged the monkey back, it was good to see them again, it had been three long years since he left, he had stopped by to see them now and again, but the visits had always been short, and he hadn't always seen all of them, usually it was either Antuari or Nova that was absent.  
Birdy, who had been watching the whole exchange with a slight frown, knelled down and tapped Sprx between his eyes, blinking, still pinned under Otto, he looked at her.  
"How come Sparky never tell me 'bout friends?" She asked, all the monkeys winced, expected an outrage from the red monkey, but all he did was look at her with a calm expression and a glint of mischief in his eyes.  
"You never asked" he said simply smiling at the girl.  
She fixed him with her large blue eyes and stuck her tongue out.  
"Mature" He sighed as Otto let him stand, staring at him like he'd never seen him before, even Antuari was surprised by Sprx, for years he hated being called Sparky, and now this young girl had just done it, and his reaction was calm and measured.....Antuari made a mental note to question Sprx on it later.  
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked turning to Gibson and Otto  
"Nova is holding a celebration of sorts, for her class, they have requested to meet us" It was Antuari who answered, Sprx frowned at the silver simian, normally Antuari's voice held a trace of emotion when he spoke, weather it be annoyance, joy or just quiet pleasure, it always had something in it, now it was deadpanned, flat and toneless.  
"Thats neat, when is it?"  
"Two days from today" Gibson anwsered  
"Oh" Sprx said surprised, he glanced at Sao, the women had perched her chin on her folded hands, when Sprx's eyes met hers, she smiled.  
"Go, I've already cleared you from the secluded, just let me know when to expect you back"  
Sprx looked around the room, into the eyes of each and every one of his friends and teammates, Otto's eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought of Sprx returning, Gibson eyes were also light, but it was Antuari's eyes that were dark and clouded. Sprx turned back to Sao  
"Not for a while I should think, I have some catching up to do"  
"I should think so" Said a voice, a voice that Sprx had not heard in near to four years, a voice that caused him to jump as he turned.  
Nova stood in the doorway of the office, her yellow armor gleaming in the light, her pink orbs full of joy, a smile graced her face.  
"Hey Nova" Sprx said with more calm then he felt  
Sprx could swear he could hear the evil cackle of Birdy's brain, he turned and fixed her with his best cold glare.  
"Don't. You. Dare" He growled  
The girl was a picture of innocence, her blue eyes seemingly sweet, her hands behind her back and a huge smile on her face.  
"Who? Me? I would never Sparky" She purred patting him on the head "Bring your friends to the Bay afterwards, kay?" She left without waiting for an answer.  
She walked from the room whistling cheerfully, Nova glanced at the girl, then at Sprx, a worried look on her face, but it seemed she didn't have to worry, Sprx was shaking his head.  
"Well now that your back I guess-" Whatever Otto was guessing was cut off from a song that floated up the hall  
_Sparky and Nova sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g  
First comes loooove  
Than comes marriage.  
Then comes Sparky with a baby carriage_  
'I'm gonna kill her" Sprx growled, turning a decidedly darker shade of red "I'll be nice about because she was my friend, but I'm going to kill her"  
"Don't you be gettin' any blood on my decks, now, I just had them cleaned" Sao warned  
Sprx turned to her and bowed "Thank you Sao-Sama for this opportunity to work with you" Sprx said  
Sao stood from behind her desk and walked around and kneeled in front of Sprx "here" she said pressing something into his hands  
"You've been a great asset here Sprx. Take it, you've earned it" She said as she stood  
In his hand was the control chip to his ship. She was giving him the ship him and Birdy had spent weeks building, Birdy would be devastated, but Sprx was elated.  
"Thank you" He said  
"Ahh, now don't be thinking' that your anyone special. When you come back, I'll put to work as hard as everyone else. Now git, I've got work and I'll have no deadbeats around my office" She turned to Antuari, Otto Gibson and Nova "It was a great honor to finally meet all of you" She bowed to them, and they returned it.  
"Goobye Sprx, I'll see you when I see you" Sao called with a little wave  
He returned her wave "Yea I suppose you will" he said as the door slid shut behind them.  
They walked down the hall, catching up, and talking only Antuari hung back, for some reason he wanted to watch them walk for a while and listen to the small talk, and of course the laughter. It was a wonderful feeling, a kind of nudge in the ribs, a wink from somewhere that suggested life was working. For the first time in five years Antuari smiled, he looked out the plate glass window as the stars and asteroids drifted by, a warm feeling had replaced that coldness he fear was taking him over, his smile widened slightly as he realized they had stopped and were waiting for him. He turned from the window and hurried to catch up with them. His friends. His family.

A/N:These chapters are pathetically short, they'll get longer.......


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N..........sorry.....so very, very, very sorry, I really, did mean to update before this. I was working double shifts two weeks in a row, than I was moving and to top all that mess off I was sick, not once, not twice, bu-u-u-t you guessed it **_**five freggin' times !#$%***_

**Phew, not that I've got that off my chest, after a long wait, here's chapter three. Prize to any one who can figure out the mystery of this chapter.**

Forgot this in my last two chapters, Disclaimer:: Don't own SRMTHFG!

Chapter Three: Lost Northern Star

_You are my waking dream,_

_Your all that's real to me,_

_You are the magic in the _

_world I see._

_You are the prayer I sing_

_you brought to my knees_

_you are the faith that_

_made me believe._

_Dreams on fire, higher_

_and higher, passions _

_burning, right on the_

_pyre._

_One spark, forever yours_

_in me all your heart, dreams_

_on fire, higher and higher._

_You are my ocean,_

_You are my heart _

_each day, _

_you are the laughter _

_from childhood games._

_you are the spark_

_of dawn._

_You are where I belong,_

_You are the ache I feel_

_in every song._

_Dreams on fire, higher_

_and higher, passions burning,_

_right on the pyre._

_One spark forever yours,_

_in me all your heart,_

_Dreams on fire, higher_

_and higher._

'**Dreams on Fire' **

**-**_Slumdog Millionaire _

_I'll always be there for you.....' _

The pliers slipped from her hands as she slowly turned, the words felt so real, she actually expected the speaker to be standing in the doorway of the small bridge. But no one was.

Closing her eyes against the surge of memories and images that flooded her mind, she sighed, it had been a year now since she'd been separated from her family, she would have like to pretended that it didn't bother her as much as it did, but she just couldn't, the lonely nights and empty days still got to her. Working on repairing the ship alone, eating alone, sleeping alone, without anyone else to talk to, laugh with and just to ebb away the empty feeling that came with rainy days, it was awful. Sure, she'd been alone before and it hadn't bothered her much than, but that was before she found company she wanted to be with.

With a shake of her head, she returned to re-wiring the main piolets controls, most of the primary systems had been fried along with the core a little over a year ago, it had taken some doing but she managed to purchase another core, and with what she knew, set about fixing the ship to a flyable standard.

She reached for a handful of wires, to continue stripping them and re wire them, but she stopped and instead reached for a small 4X6 frame that sat on the control panel, it was a teak frame, stained a brownish/red, it had fallen numerous times, it was chipped, cracked scored and scarred, the glass had been replaced at lest three times, but still they had kept the frame.

She loved it. Like the picture housed inside the frame, it a story and character, it also served as a small reminder as to why she kept fighting, why she kept going on, even in the darkest nights, why she felt like running to the furthest corner of the galaxy and hiding.

_They_ were the reason why she kept fighting....

"Awww man. Is. It. _Hot._" Sprx whined as he shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun, beside him Otto chuckled

"No, it's a normal summer, you're just so used to tempter-less space that this is hot to you" Otto said "come on it'll be cooler through the park"

"Its Nova's party, so tell me why _we_ had to go get the supplies?"

"Because Nova's cooking dinner, and your being nice" Otto stopped walking at a bench and sat down, gesturing Sprx should the same, grateful for the break, Sprx sat down next to Otto. It had only been a day since Sprx left the Sao's Salvage company and returned to Shuggazoom for Nova's graduation, the first night was spent with Otto cleaning out his old room, nothing had been moved or damaged, but Otto had run out of space to store all the equipment he needed to remodel the Robot, and used Sprx's and Chiro's old bedrooms. Sprx still couldn't get over how _different_ the Robot looked.

One the outside, and throughout the inside, most of still looked the same, but the vents had been reduced in size and doubled in numbers, weak points were gone, everything that had crippled them in past battles was completely gone, not to mention a new and updated computer system, a brand new autopilot system. The metal was all new too, Otto had pointed out the sheets of metal Sprx had brought back for him, but Sprx couldn't tell the difference between the salvaged and the brand new, everything sparkled and shone like new.

Once he got over the robot, he went downtown and visited Gibson at his office, but Gibson was in a lecture, so Sprx took the opportunity to sit in and listen, he didn't understand a single word of what big brains was saying, but the students were paying rapt attention, hanging on his every word.

Antuari had gotten it into him to redecorate his room, when Sprx stopped in to see if he had wanted to go with him and Otto, the rock garden that was so costmary by the door was now moved to the far left corner, the circle of cushions that had been used in group meditations were gone, now a low table and a silver cushion took its place, upon explanation Antuari said he had taken up ink paintings, though Sprx didn't see any decorating his walls, Sprx imagined it was more of a hobby, something to pass the time while Antuari was not meditating.

Then he stopped by Nova's school, she wasn't teaching but rather going over the events planned for the night, her students, like Gibson's, were completely enthralled with her, staring at her with hero-worshiping eyes and million's of questions.

"Sprx!" Otto tapped him on the back of his helmet with his tail

"Ow, what was that for?"

"I said it was a nice sunset, and you didn't even respond, something bothering you?" Otto asked

"no, I was just thinking about how much things have changed with us" he looked at the sun sinking slowing into the sea "how much Chiro has missed" He added in a softer voice

"I know, Mr Gakslapper has got a whole new menu, the arcade's under new owners, and they seem much less threatening than Ma and Pa Shenko, not to mention that the mall's got a new floor, Jinmay'll love that..."

As Otto went on and on about how much Shuggazoom had changed since Chiro left, Sprx only sat there, watching him speak smiling.

"Come one Otto we'd better get this stuff back" Sprx said jumping off the bench and grabbing his bag

"Yea, otherwise Nova might do something _violent_ to us" Otto said with his usual impish grim

Sprx grimaced "I'd rather avoid that if I can, I've only been back for twelve hours, I'd like to go a full twenty four before I get walloped"

Otto jumped off the bench and grabbed his bag, as he stood he looked at the sunset, the huge orb looked like it had set the sea on fire.

"But you know" He said in a voice so soft that Sprx almost missed it, he looked back to see Otto transfixed by the sunset "I feel that somethin' bad has happened to them"

"What was I _supposed_ to say to _that?!"_ Sprx asked, Antuari however did not reply, but rather shake his head

"I agree with you, Otto's statement is most disturbing, and with them being so far away it is quite possible that something grievous could have happened to Chiro and Jinmay-"

"Your not really helping" Sprx interuppted dryly

"_however"_ he added with a pointed look in the red simian's direction "If anything...._unwanted_ had happened to Chiro, I would have felt it, through the Power Primate, and I have not"

"But..can you feel him?"

"I can, he is....far away, but, as far as I can tell, he is fine"

"What about safe?"

"I don't know" Antuari replied with a sigh "He is to far away for me to appear to him, but I know he is fine"

"Hey, there you guys are" Otto said as he poked his head in through the open bay door, the monkey's had been helping Nova get ready for her party, when Sprx dragged Antuari inside the Foot Crusher.

"Nova's looking for you, she's almost ready and the guests have started to arrive"

"We're coming Otto" Antuari said, than turning back to Sprx, he laid a hand on Sprx's shoulder "He's fine Sprx"

"Or at lest you _hope_ he is" Sprx muttered as Antuari left, with a shake of his head, he followed Antauri out.

The stars bore witness as the scene unfolded, as the sun left, the guests to Nova's party arrived to a make shift stage built between the feet of the Robot, three tables lined with food, all of which Nova cooked, and the greeting Monkey team. The Parents of course recognized the Monkey team, and even after all these years were still grateful for their dedication and protection, the smaller children, however had only grown up on stories, and were now meeting these fabled creatures in person, most of them were too excited to put two words together, some of them knew the monkey team since they were young and were now given the chance to meet their heroes.

Than came the awards, for each age a different level, and class, and for each child a different award that Otto had spent the week before hand making, As the children left the stage, their prizes in hand, they ran teary-eye and excited to their parents to show off. After awards the children, recovering from Hero worship, began asking questions, of Otto they asked about the Robot, and how he managed to build the things he did, and how he'd fallen in love with mechanics in the first place.

Sprx was questioned about his flying skills, how many enemies he'd shot down, and what it took to fly like him.

A few of Nova's student's, were also Gibson's, and they took the opportunity to talk outside class with him, mostly about stars.

Nova was surrounded by the smaller children, and Antauri was left with the smallest amount of children, but they were the few that were too young to know about the boy that led the heroic Monkey Team, they boy they didn't know, their questions were about Chiro.

They were innocent enough questions, What was he like? Did he look like a monkey? Did he fight well? Was he a hero too?

As the night wore on, Nova began in insist that the party come to an end, her and her teammates were tired, and so were the parents, but the children were full of boundless energy, finally at midnight Nova waved away the last guest.

"Wow, is it just me, or are kids getting more and more sugar these days?" Sprx asked as he shoved a table full of garbage into a huge trash can that Otto was holding the lid too.

"It is possible, since the new arcade has opened the bisnuess at the Halo Cream has nearly doubled" Gibson said bagging up his own garbage

"What does sugar have to do with any of this?" Otto asked, scratching his head

"Simple Otto, increased intake of glucose levels, equals to higher levels of epinephrine released which creates more erratic behavior" Gibson explained, Nova covered her smile at Otto's black expression, the green monkey looked at Sprx.

"More sugar, more energy" Sprx said

"Er, that's what _I_ said" Gibson growled glaring at Sprx

"no, what you said was a lot of: blah, blah, blah, blah"

"This is insufferable, you've only been back for sixteen and two quarter hours and your already making an annoyance of yourself..._Sparky_"

"Don't. Start. Big. Brains" Sprx's growled

"Hey" Otto said, completely oblivious to Sprx and Gibson, "Where's Antuari?"

Nova sighed as she looked up to the shoulders of the Robot "Come one, Otto, you get the trash-" She activated her fists "_I'll_ get the boys" She said starting towards the still arguing Gibson and Sprx.

Antuari allowed all the adrenaline from the party, seep out of him, as he quieted his mind, and relaxed floating inches above the Super Robot's brand new hull.

Below he could feel the tired minds of his teammates as they forwent the rest of the clean up in favor of hot showers and a good nights rest, he felt a pang of conscience, as he should have been down there, helping them clean up, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

He was talking to a young boy by the name of Jeremy, when he got the sudden overwhelming feeling of another wielder of the Power Primate nearby, it wasn't any of the others, and no one else in Shuggazoom wielded the Power Primate, that only meant one other person, but it would be a disgrace to Nova who worked so hard on this party, not to mention her students who worked so hard to get here, to just leave, and on nothing more than a feeling. So he stayed, but the moment the last child left, he went to the shoulder, his favorite meditation spot, and the easiest way to reach into space, mentally at lest.

As he felt the familiar tingle as his mind left his body, he fixed on the feeling, and headed in that direction, he kept reaching, out to space, where everything became dark, empty and cold, he knew what space was like, having been in it before, but he had never reached into it with his mind, he never experienced the darkness that never ended, quite like this. He wasn't long in searching, not far from Shuggazoom he found what he was looking for.....or so he thought, Antuari frowned as he came in contact with Chiro's Power Primate, it was Chiro's, Antarui could _feel_ Chiro the moment he touched it, but something was really, really wrong, the amount of power was way to small, not to mention he felt darkness on all sides, like the Power Primate was dormant, or being hidden. Antarui reached in further and tried to communicate with Chiro, through the Power. But something was preventing him, coils of darkness snared him, but the coils soon began to melt, covering his body, Antarui tried to fight, but it was like fighting nothing, everything he did, everything he tried, nothing worked.

As the darkness swallowed him, he felt cold, numb, and empty, like he was in a void were nothing existed, and nothing was allowed in.

When Antuari came to, he was on his back, rain was pelting his face, his entire body from strained, he sat up, instinctively he knew he'd been 'gone' for hours. Shaking off the last of that feeling that persisted, Antarui stood and headed for the door.

Sprx was in the middle of a dream, not a particularly good dream, but not a bad one, either way, he didn't enjoy the constant tapping noise that wouldn't stop.

Sprx's sleeping pod slip open, as the bleary-eyed Monkey stumbled to the door, rubbing his eyes.

"You were right" Antarui stated as he walked in, after Sprx opened the door

"What are you talking about?....and what happened?" Sprx asked looking at the soaking wet silver monkey, once, just once Sprx was grateful that Antarui no longer had fur, otherwise it'd be hell to get that wet monkey smell out of his room.

"Or rather Otto was right, something _has_ happened to Chiro"

_That _woke Sprx up "whoa, wait what are you talking about?"

"During the party I got the feeling that a wielder of the Power Primate was near, and it wasn't any of you, and since none of the Shuggazoomian's are welders of the Power Primate, that only left one person"

"Chiro" Sprx concluded

"Yes, but tonight, when I reached out to him....it was wrong...different, smaller, and when I tried to speak with him....something attacked me"

"Wait, wait, wait, are you saying that Chiro's Power Primate _attacked_ you?"

"No" Antarui frowned "It wasn't the Power Primate...it was something else something.....older"

"And this makes you think something bad has happened?"

"Yes?"

"An-n-nd, this may make me look like an idiot, how do you come to that conclusion?"

"Because it _Chiro's_ Power Primate, but it was _not_ Chiro"

Sprx stared at Antarui dumbfounded for a few more seconds, but than the realization struck him like a thunderbolt, his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide was the implications of Antarui's words hit home.

Neither of them had time to consider this, as seconds later the alarm blared throughout the robot.

**A/N: wow, okay, this chapter was longer than the last two also a lot crappier I did this on the fly it most likely will go through a revision. Once again I'm sorry for the delay**

**P.S. anyone who reads the Authors Notes, please begin your comment with a % symbol.**

**Signing off**.....


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The One impossible to Forget.

_We enjoy warmth because we have been cold._

_We appreciate light because we have been in darkness._

_By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness._

_-David Weatherford _

When Antuari and Sprx arrived at Command, Nova, Gibson, and Otto were already there, working their stations, the three screens were online, the middle one was the Shuggazoom security camera's, flashing every three seconds between the city streets and the sky, the one on the left, closest to Otto had the battle status of the Robot on it, Antuari grimaced with he noticed that the Robot was woefully incomplete. The third screen sandwiched between Gibson and Nova had data read outs and alarms flashing.

The blaring alarm died as they walked up to the others.

"Report" Antuari said, failing to notice how easily he fell in the roll of being a leader.

"A ship was caught entered the amptneshpere, its already through and over the Western Zone of Wasted Years" Otto said

"What direction is it heading?" Antuari asked

"Straight for the city"

"Go to high alarm and warm up whatever weapons we have available" Antarui said as he walked over to where Nova and Gibson were working.

"What do you have?" he asked

"There's only one heat signature onboard, but as we've learned, that could be anything, not necessarily life" Gibson said.

"Nova?"

"Not much of anything I'm afraid, the ship isn't responding to hails and aside from heading for the city limits, its shown no sign of aggression"

"Can you get a picture?" Sprx asked

"Yea I can try" Nova turned back to her screen and began to work again, even as Otto reported that they had less than five minutes before that Ship reached the city limits.

"Your not seriously going to blow that ship out of the sky are you?" Sprx whispered to Antarui, low enough so the others didn't hear.

"No" Sprx frowned, Antarui was staring at the screen that showed the streets of the city, his eyes narrowed and his voice was rough.

"What?" Sprx asked "What is it?"

"That ship, whoever is on it, has the Power Primate"

Sleep was a rare privilege, she could sleep whenever she wanted to, but rest was something that would be forever unobtainable, nightmares almost always plagued her. But at certain times of the month, when

_he_ was resting, she could sleep undisturbed.

Tonight was such a night.

And the dream had been wonderful, she was on the Mule, flying much to fast, her wind free and blowing in every which direction, she had a crazy gleam in her eyes and her cheeks hurt from her wild manic laughter.

She stopped laughing when a sudden, piercing scream rent the air, causing her to stop the Mule and look around. She was on a river back, woods to her left and right, the scream was coming from the left. She landed the Mule and ran into the woods, never thinking. She ran harder, faster, her legs cramped and her lungs burned, but that terrible scream kept her going.

Then, she reached a clearing, where a little child was on the ground, arms around her waist, head lowered so her hair covered her face, the scream was coming from her little body.

She approached the child slowly, trying to reassure the little girl that she wouldn't hurt the child, that she was here to help. She keeled down and reached out to touch the child's shoulder.

The child snapped her face up, but it was no child's face, it was long and distorted, red eyes gleamed from darkened flesh, long rows of teeth were slick with saliva in a impossibly large mouth. The child sprang from her position, leaping onto her.

She shot up so fast the book she'd been reading went across the room, slamming into the wall and landing on the floor.

"Oiy" She mumbled as she held her head in her hands "gotta stop reading before falling asleep"

She sat there for a second before she realized that the screaming that was the monster/child was still persisting.

_am I awake?_ she thought as she pulled the covers off and stood in her room, the cold of the floor cut right through her bare feet, making her jump back into bed _yep, I'm awake._ But the screaming continued. Frowning she slipped on her boots and left the room, climbing up the ladder into the main gangplank. As the door closed a cold realization hit her fast.

It wasn't screaming.

It was the proximity alarm!

She ran up the small ladder and into the cockpit, where she paled at the sight of the a small pink and while planet growing rapidly in her viewport.

She got into the piolets seat and strapped herself down looking at the screens that were flashing various amounts of input and information, she punched in the access code and tried to turn the ship, but the code was rejected and the computer told her that a Master Override was required. She frowned, she had never needed a Master Override before, than all at once, it all came back to her, a specific memory, a conversation that she had overheard, her frowned melted into a dark scowl as she took the controls off Autopilot and tried to fly the rickshaw ship was best she could.

_It's going to be a long day_ she thought as the ship rammed through the aptnesphere, turning the already fragile metal red hot, and warping more of the damaged plates. Alarms screamed through the cockpit as the ship began to violently shake. Desert whipped past at a terrifying rate, sand turned to glass as the heat backed the sun, she punched buttons, and pulled levers, the ship pulled up and the shaking reduced, somewhat. She jerked the ship to the right to avoid a large rock formation, and let out a sigh of relief, only to have panic light her face again as a city suddenly loomed on the near horizon.

"Who the hell puts a city in the middle of the freckin' desert" she growled as she hit more buttons, trying to coax more power out of the already starved engine core. The panel instrument lit up, and than flashed red, the core had gone into overload, and would soon explode.

She closed her eyes, took a long, deep breath and held it as she took on hand off the controls and set it on the metal of the panel in front of her. She didn't need to see to know what was happening, everywhere, through every hall, on every wall, window, door and floor, even on the outside, sigals and Circles began to appear, and than glow in a pale yellow white mix. For one moment, nothing happened, and than, as the ship began to approach the city, the sand began to rise from the desert floor, it was small at first, than a huge wall, thick and wide, it formed itself around the ship.

There was no way she could stop in time, but she could at lest lessen damage.

"What in the world?"

The Five Monkey's stared shocked and wide-eyed at the screen. Nova had gotten the picture, but the ship was gone a second later, a thick wall of sand had surrounded the ship, obscuring it from view.

"Some kind of camouflage?" Otto asked "To prevent from being seen?"

"No, its not" Nova said "The sand is somehow slowing the ship down!"

"That's impossible!" Gibson cried as he check Nova's reading's himself "But its true" His tone was disbelief as he took looked at the screen.

Antarui stood in Command, just staring, once he learned that the ship was on a collision course with the city, he told Otto to get the Robot in the air, so they could stop it. But Sprx told him that it was a idea, that the Ship was some kind of _Firefly_ class, and that its metal, after being exposed to extreme heat was soft and malleable, if they touched that ship with the Robot it would melt like butter in a hot pan, killing anyone inside. So Antarui stood there, caught in indecision, as the Leader it was his job, no his _duty_ to protect the people of Shuggazoom, but as Antarui it was his heart that told him to leave that ship alone, to let it run its course. And he made his decision, and he stood there. But than the sand came, and slowed the ship down, and for some reason he felt marginally better.

That is until the sound of rendering metal filled the Command, Antarui grimaced, as he looked at the screen.

The sand fell away, the ship had run into a new steel building. Sprx had not lied, metal went flying as the ship suddenly pulled to the left, only to slam into a condemned apartment building, inwardly Antarui was grateful for the new Mayors lofty dream of getting rid of all the old buildings that were dangerous, otherwise that building would have been full of sleeping families.

The ship tried to pull above to the buildings and succeeded, for a few moments, until it reached the park, where it lost its momentum and plummeted dangerously close to the ground, taking out benches and fountains before entering the city again. The flight was smoother this time, the ship stayed within the streets, only knocking into light poles and taking out windows. And just as the Monkey's were about to breath a collective sigh of relief, they realized that on its pell mell flight through the city, the ship was heading straight for them!

As if the city wasn't bad enough, a huge boxy Robot suddenly loomed out of the darkness, and to make matters worse, she had used to so much of what little core power remained, that she could not avoid it.

She relaxed her whole body, and prepared for a crash.

The monkey's's slammed to the floor as the sound of metal of metal grinding filled the air, quickly followed by blaring alarms, Sprx, though on the ground with the rest, managed to keep his eyes on the screen, and saw as the Firefly ship collided with the Otto-toughened steel, the weak metal was no match, and the wing sheered off, flying towards the park in a head over toe motion. The Firefly, spun out of control, whatever enuritia it had, carried it over the little construction sites, and into the Eastern Zone of Wasted Years.

They all began to stand, Otto and Gibson immediately went to their respective panels

"Well?" Antarui asked

"The ships crashed just past the city limits, there's a lot of heat from the wreckage, I can't discern from life-form or metal" Otto looked at them with a sad look in his eyes "Sorry"

"There is someone!" Gibson said "unless metal can move"

"alright Otto get the Land Rover scrambled, Gibson get your med kit, Nova-"

Antarui was cut off as a bright point of blue/while light sailed high into the night sky, as it came down it arched over the desert, away from the city, then, without warning, it exploded, sending shock wave, after shockwave through the city over turning cars, obliterating windows. The Robot took the shockwave much better, but the monkey's were thrown to the ground again.

"Reactor Core" Sprx said before anyone could ask "it must have gone critical during the flight"

_if you can call that a flight_ he added silently.

"To your posts" Antarui said "there's someone out there" Nova and Gibson ran out, followed quickly by Sprx and Otto.

Antarui stood in the Command, looking at the plume of black smoke that rose over the sand dunes.  
A mixture of fear and apprehension mingling through his system.

It was the snap of electricity that woke her up, she jerked awake, her vision was blurry and everything was reporting various levels of pain. With shaking fingers she reached up and pushed the button on her seat straps, they retracted, and she collapsed onto the control panel, she stood, closing her eyes, allowing her mind to clear, forcing herself to focus through the haze of disorientation and pain. She remembered landing, or well, crashing to be exact, the ship had ended up nose first in a pile of sand, the back half of the ship higher than the front, as a result everything was tilted. She had stayed conscience long enough to eject the Core, so it didn't blow her up too, the resulting shockwave had slammed her head into the control panel and knocked her out, she ran her fingers along her hairline, they came away wet and sticky. She pushed her hair back and stumbled out into the hall. It was an interesting experience going down stairs that were pointed _up_ but she managed, getting down the ladder to her room was much easier, finding what she needed, not so much, the crashed had sent everything that wasn't bolted down flying, she found her gloves still tucked inside her night stand drawer, she pulled them on as she grabbed her backpack from the messed closet, she would have liked to blame the closet on the crash, but knew that when it came to closets, she just shoved stuff in there, and pretended that the door didn't bulge. She filled the backpack with extra clothes and what little money she still had left, than climbed back out into the main hall. The side door was completely blocked up sand, forcing her to go to the Cargo bay.

The cargo bay was a mess, what boxes and crates that remained were not scattered all over the bay floor, the Mule was fine, it was precariously leaning to on side, but it still was restrained with chains and winches, she would have been surprised if the Mule had broken loose. Making her way down the catwalks she noticed there was a shimmer from the emergency lights, frowning she wondered it was gas, oil or both, either on could be deadly, both could be disastrous. She wanted to get the ship fixed, not have to by a new one. When she made it too the bay floor she realized that the liquid was only water, the main water pipe had burst, flooding the bay, she thanked whatever stars people counted as lucky and headed for the bay door.

She cursed those damned stars and their damned luck, the bay door opened alright, but it stopped a good thirty feet in the air.

_no, no, no way am I jumping_ she thought resolutely to herself, but that promise waned as she looked for the ladder that had been welded to the side for stations exactly like these, she found it, the flashlight reveled the pieces of the ladder scattered across the desert sands. Scowling she turned back inside and found a length of chain that had been used to secure the boxes of cargo, by estimation it was fifteen to twenty feet long, and she stood an even five feet, that left her with five to ten feet to fall. She didn't like but it was her only course of action, she laid three or four links of the chain close to the lip of the bay door, laying her hand over the chain she closed her eyes, unlike before when things were hectic and forced, this time she could feel the power as it flowed through her, mixing and dancing, her hand grew warm, than hot, and she pulled away. Looking down she smiled at her handy work. The chain was melded with the metal of the bay door, swinging her pack over her shoulders she grabbed the chain and began to climb down. It was slow, and painful as her ribs, arms and back protested the movement, but she forced the pain from her mind and focused on something else. Like the city, she had always found that city lights had sparked a feeling of sadness and loneliness from her, this time was no different, it only came harder this time, and faster. Like a knife to her heart, it was quick and sharp, she looked away, looking at the ground instead, that at lest didn't spark any feelings, other than disgust at the sand.

She reached the end of the chain, and dropped the remaining feet to the ground, she might have landed gracefully, like she had been trained, but the crash must have done something to her ankle, cause when she landed, there was pain, hot and white, it made her cry out as she fell over holding her left ankle. It took a few moments for the pain to fade, she could stand, but walking would be hard, she had to limp, she knew she wouldn't make it far, but wasn't too worried, her "flight" through the city was sure to attract more than a little attention, rescue, or troops would be here before morning. She made it no more than thirty feet away from the wreck before the pain was just to severe. She dropped her pack, and collapsed to the desert floor, lying on her back looking up at the stars. She looked at all the stars, each and everyone, lingering on one for a moment, than moving on to the next, none of them looking like wishing stars, and none looked lucky, she didn't know where people got it in their heads that stars were some sort of magical effidice that would give copious amounts of luck or grant wishes, it was silly, ridiculous, not to mention the direct contradiction to the First Law. If the stars gave something to you, than you had to give something of equal value back, if they gave you luck, and you won the lottery, did you give them money? And if so what would stars do with money? Its not as if they could spend it, unless there was some kind of star shop or market that she was unaware of, but then that would mean that the stars were more than just ball of gas. Something that was equally unlikely.

_no_ she thought _Lucky stars and wishing starts are unpractical_.

She dropped her arm across her eyes, only meaning to block the view of those retched, unpractical stars, but for some reason she didn't want to open her eyes. For once the darkness was warm and welcoming, she went into it without even fighting.

The Rover roared across the desert at break neck speed, a cloud of dust rose behind them, and plumed out across the vast Wasteland. Nova sat in the back looking out the window, as the Third-in-Command, her mind was going through all the strategic options open to her should, whatever it was that landed, be hostile, or friendly. admittedly she didn't really understand Antarui's urgency in their departure, but Antarui had drifted so far away from them it was hard to tell what that silver simian was thinking anymore. Nova looked at Antarui sitting next to Otto, his arms across his chest, he eyes closed, suddenly they snapped open and he looked at her.

"Yes?" He asked

"What do you think we'll find?" Nova asked as a cover for her thoughts. Antarui frowned at her for a moment, as if he knew that wasn't the reason she was staring.

"I don't know" he said finally

"What do you _hope_ we'll find?"

He didn't miss the emphasis on Hope he sighed and looked at her "The same thing you do"

Nova couldn't help but smile, it was such a typically Antarui response, he gave you the answer without giving you the direct answer, it was one of his finer points, he answer your question, but also made you self-reflective. He had done it to them all right have Mandarin betrayal, Nova had never come to fully appreciate Antarui before that moment, he had given her hope and returned her to the light with answer such as those.

Sprx glanced between Nova and Antarui, wondering what exactly was going on, he didn't know why but when he returned he expected everyone to be the same, Nova still as violent and beautiful as always, and while her beauty had not faded, in fact she had only gotten prettier, her temper had, she proved she could still be violent, but her temper had faded, there was a peace in her eyes that Sprx had never seen.

Gibson had just become more involved in his work, he now had _two_ rooms on the Robot, one for his labertory, and one for his library, a library that was packed full of books with such long titles Sprx couldn't hope to even read one title, let alone the book.

But as absorbed as he had become in his work, he had retreated from the team not at all, between him and Otto they had started cooking, and if nothing got all the Monkey's to the same table, it was food, good food at that. Sprx wasn't sure how Gibson learned to cook so well, but he could cook with the best of them, in a few more years he'd be as good as Otto.

Sprx couldn't help but smiled at their little green piolet, Otto had not changed, Sprx didn't think that Otto would _ever_ change, there he sat in the drivers seat of some new invention, humming a tune only he knew happy as a clam.

Otto's eyes suddenly went wide, and he slammed on the brakes, unprepared for the stop, Gibson, and Sprx, who had not used the restraints as they had been advised, went flying, Gibson landed on the floor and Sprx piled into Nova, who had wisely used her restraint.

"Otto" Gibson complained as he stood up brushing himself off. He opened his mouth to complain but a small statement from Otto shut them all up.

"What?" Antarui asked as though he'd been feet away from the Green Simian rather than a few hand spaces.

"Someone's out there" Otto said pointing to the windshield, they all stood and looked out the windshield, the bright headlights reveled miles of dusty scenery in either direction, but beyond the glow of those lights. Nothing.

Nothing but sheer darkness, as deep and impenetrable as the meaning behind Antuari's sand garden.

"We go on foot from here" No matter the illogical statement made by Otto, Antarui had no reason to distrust him, Otto was one strange monkey, one minute he was acting like a little child, swinging from roof rafters, playing with something that was small and fuzzy. The next he was deadly serious, it confused them all from time to time, it even caught Antarui off guard occasionally.

The door to the Rover opened to a dirt landscape with nothing more than a craggy weeds and little insects. Sprx was the first out, stepping into the sand, was like taking a step back in time. The last time he had been in the Zone of Wasted Years was when Antarui had been killed by Mandarin and Chiro had gotten the Black monkey's life force and somehow transferred into the silver, robotic body.

"Geez" Sprx swore "Does it ever cool down out here?" He asked as heat blasted him in the face.

Otto just laughed "Its not hot Sprx, your just not used to it"

"Alright fan out, Sprx take point, go no more than fifty feet and keep in contact" Antuari said as he joined Gibson off to the left, Sprx started at the nose of the Rover, and began walking straight, his light dancing across the sand catching nothing more than the lizards and bugs that made this place their home.

_I wonder what it was like_ Sprx thought looking out to the right and left, in the distance he saw Nova and Otto, and to the left Antuari and Gibson, their lights pointed to the ground dutifully searching for that someone that Otto mentioned. Sprx turned off his light and kept walking, he didn't need the light to see where he was going. _a long time ago this place was buildings and towers, streets, subways, and houses. People lived here, back when the Alchemists house was on a street not in a jungle_. thinking of the Alchemist brought up a whole other basket of eggs, Sprx wasn't really sure how he felt about the whole way they came about, he was comfortable with being a walking, talking, intelligent monkey, but he didn't exactly feel right about someone having to become evil. _not to mention he created us to defeat him. How did he know that we would have to be the ones, and how did he know that we would find Chiro and become a formidable force that he could not defeat? Did he see the future? And why is there a black lump in the dirt?_ Startled Sprx stopped walking, and stared straight ahead, sure enough, there was a lump in the middle of the desert, but it wasn't like the other lumps in the desert, it had a shape and a form, whereas the other lumps were more shapeless. Turning his lights back on he, cautiously, approached the lump. But caution, it was quickly deemed, unnecessary, for the lump turned out to be a girl, and she looked like she was sleeping.

_now what kind of idiot would sleep in a desert_? Sprx thought as he queued his communicator,

"Hey Sprx I think I found your "somebody" Gibson I need you over here"

Sprx reached down and touched his fingers to the girls neck, he felt a faint pulse below the skin,

_well that's good, but its awfully weak_ he thought as Gibson, Nova, Otto and Antuari arrived. The combination of their lights threw the girl into sharp relief.

She was young, couldn't have been any older than fourteen and no younger than twelve, she was small in both size and frame, she had long red streaked black hair was tied back in tight braid, her face was heart shaped, thin lips, upturned nose, and full cheeks. She was dressed entirely in black, from her shirt, to her pants to her boots, cloak and gloves, nothing but black, Sprx wondered how she had survived in the heat in all that black clothing.

Gibson hooked up some sort of machine to her and looked at the screen.

"She has a serious concussion, some cracked ribs and her ankle looks fractured. She is dehydrated-"

_I would be too in all that black_ Sprx thought

"-and a little malnourished, I imagine that the crash took up what little reserves she had, resulted in her fainting. I need to get her back to the Robot"

"Nova and Sprx, find and secure that Crash site. Otto I need you to come with me, I think we're going to need the Robot moving" Antarui looked at Gibson "ready?" he asked

the Blue and Green monkey's nodded, Otto laid a hand on Antuari's shoulder, while Gibson took his other hand, with his free hand Antarui laid it across the Girls forehead. The air shimmered around them, like their tempiture had increased, and the heat was rising up in waves. A second later they were gone.

Sprx rubbed his eyes, his mouth fell open, and he stood there shocked.

Nova giggled "Antarui's learned a few things since you;ve been gone" She said heading back to the Rover.

Sprx snapped his mouth shut and turned to follow Nova "So I noticed"

The Days passed in uneasy silence, the people of Shuggazoom had been reassured that the ship that took a free flight through their city was not harmful, but a lost traveler. Nova, Sprx and Antarui did what they could to help around the city during the day, at night them and Otto spent their time digging out the small Firefly ship they had crashed not ten feet from where they found the girl.

The girl had not woken up from whatever spell she was in, she would toss and turn, but for the most part she stayed asleep, as Gibson gave her IV fluids and treated her injuries. Sprx was almost bored with motinuity, and was ready for something, almost begging for something, exciting to happen.

And then it did.

On the fifth night they uncovered the ship, and had it moved to the docking bay inside the Robot, Otto did what he could, but the ship was dirty, covered in sand, grime and a fair amount of carbon scoring, the outside looked like it had been through a war. Sprx was loathe to see the inside.

But as it happened, he didn't because Otto called them all down to the docking bay later that same night, his voice was shaken and he sounded scared. When they all arrived they saw Otto standing, just standing there, no expression on his face, expect dumb shock.

"Otto?" Nova asked, laying a hand on his shoulder, the contact startled the green monkey, and without warning hugged Nova, his arms around her neck, holding on tightly as if she would vanish.

"Otto, what's wrong?" Antarui asked gently. Slowly, Otto let go, and looked at Antarui.

"I didn't mean to, I mean I didn't know, I was just cleaning and it was just _there_"

"What was there?"

As a response Otto just pointed to the ship, following his hand they all looked up.

Nova gasped and covered her mouth.

Gibson grew three shades paler.

Sprx could not believe his eyes, but couldn't look away either.

Antarui, just stared, his eyes glazed over, his look distant.

There was a piece of metal, haphazardly welded onto the nose of the ship, metal they all recognized.

_May the stars grace you with luck and wisdom on your journey_

_ Antarui_

_I Want space dust! Ohh and a star! Also, come home safely_

_Otto_

_While your out there finding yourself, don't forget about us!_

_Nova_

_Fly straight and true kid, let your heart fly for you!_

_Sprx-77_

_Collect samples and data stores on every planet you visit._

_Return to us safely_

_ Gibson_

A piece of metal, bearing the inscriptions that the Monkey's had given to Chiro on the day he left, it was metal from the Silent Dreamer. Chiro and Jinmay's ship.


	5. DON'T PANIC

Because we are human and imperfect we are in a constant change, we are not the person we were yesterday, we are not who we were a year ago, we are not who we thought we were when we were children and thought that everything would be as easy as breathing.  
As a result I am not the same person I was when I started this story, many things in both my personal life and writing style has changed, and I can no longer continue this story in the format that it was originally planned for.

And here is where I will tell you faithful reviewers to _NOT PANIC,_ I am not in _ANYWAY_ (short of my sudden and unnatural demise) stopping the story, it will continue and I have even begun rewriting it. Or rather I should say_ WE,_ as 'Family' is a collaboration between my sister and myself, we are reworking the entire story from beginning to end.  
I would _LIKE_ to have the story completely finished before I start posting so I can give your regular update dates, but I don't think that's going to be a possibility as many of you have already waited for_ SO LONG_ for an update only for it to end like this.  
I think once we have the first three to five chapters up and polished, we will begin posting them for your reading enjoyment.  
Since all of you have been so patient to wait for so long on me to discover a new version of myself, I will give you a few spoilers as to the new storyline.  
The original female character, Crain, will still be in the story but no longer in the starring role, she is being replaced by a young boy named Alesander.  
Crain will _STILL_ be in the story (I have fallen in love with her character far to much to write her out completely) but she will be there in a different fashion and be playing a semi-different role.  
No, sorry, there is_ NOT_ going to be a relationship between Alesander and Crain, why? well because Alesander already has a lover.

Yes lover...not girlfriend, I will tell you this now as I do think it is fair for you to choose if you want to read the new version of family.

Alesander's lover is_ MALE._..actually I was just reminded that Alesander and his lover are married so technically his husband.

Um, I think that's all I'll leave you with for right now if you want to know anything, or ask anything or suggest anything leave a comment on this chapter.  
Just so you know feedback is _AWESOME_, not comments like 'oh that story was so great' those are nice too, but I don't to ever STOP changing and part of the reason I change is because of your input. So don't be shy throw out a suggestion and who knows, you might see it in the story! '

That's all for now, I thank you ever so much, once again for all your sticktoittivness about this story and promise to have something up before the end of December.


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